Romance & Investment Scammers
Breaking Hearts, Wrecking Lives.
Social media and dating apps have become Ground Zero for romance and get-rich-quick scammers.
Scammers steal images from real, innocent people, often military officers, CEOs and first responders, to create fake profiles.
People whose identities have been stolen and used in romance and investment scams struggle to get social media platforms to remove them.
Criminal networks in Ghana, Nigeria & Southeast Asia run call centers and Facebook Groups where scammers organize and trade information.
Victims of these scams often lose hundreds of thousands of dollars, and many also end up suffering severe emotional consequences.
Our members Advocating Against Romance Scammers (AARS) provide information about how to spot scammers online.
Beware of charming strangers who ‘like’ you online.
Hunting the Vulnerable Scammers seek out people who have just lost a partner or who may be elderly.
Building Trust & Intimacy Scammers build the relationship for months before asking for money.
$739M in Reported Losses
By 19,000+ Americans to the FBI’s cyber crime tip line in 2022 alone.
Identified organized crime groups in West Africa, two of them known as the Yahoo Boys and the Sakawa Boys, run call centers that perpetuate romance scams at scale.
Meet Kathy and Bryan: Fighting to Protect the Innocent
Kathy Waters tracked down the real Bryan Denny after a scammer that stole his pictures used Bryan’s identity to scam one of her friends.
Together, they founded Advocating Against Romance Scammers (AARS), which is dedicated to helping people spot scammers, and to change the laws around this new age crime.
Bryan’s images are one of the top four male identities used in romance scams, and he has been contacted by hundreds of women who believed they were in a relationship with him.
Kathy and Bryan have traveled to Menlo Park to try and convince Meta Inc to block accounts using Bryan’s pictures (the company refused, incredibly citing privacy reasons).
They also briefed dozens of lawmakers, the FBI and other law enforcement, and they’re fighting to get the laws reformed both to protect scam victims, and help identity theft victims get their lives back.
Watch Kathy’s educational channels on TikTok and Twitter.
DOWNLoaD THE ACCO Hearts of Darkness: How Romance Scams Have Swept Social Media Fact Sheet
It’s free to download a pdf copy, but please consider making a $10 donation towards our research.
Learn More
ACCO Reports
Your Power, Our People, The World’s Defense, in More Ways Than One: A Look at Reporting Fake Profiles
Community Substandards: Capturing the Empty Promises of Big Tech’s Safety Against Online Romance Scams
Detecting Suicide and Self-Harm Discussions Among Opioid Substance Users on Instagram Using Machine Learning
Media Coverage
Violent gangs and cartels use social media to issue threats, announce new campaigns, and even put out hits on people.
Social media platforms rarely block the content, especially if it’s not in English, despite efforts by authorities.
Banned groups even monetize platforms, making money off music videos and other content that glorifies the gangster lifestyle.
Social media provides strategic value for criminal groups
Vast Followings
Gangs like MS-13, Brazil’s PCC and various Mexican cartels have hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
Spreading ‘Narco’ Culture
Illegal groups use social media to recruit new members with promises of wealth, women and weapons.
Issue Orders Freely, Widely
Crime bosses use social media to rally their troops, issue threats to rivals, and sell drugs and other contraband.
Most platforms officially ban criminal groups
But leading Sinaloa Cartel members still have hundreds of thousands of followers on Twitter.
TikTok, YouTube and Spotify spread “narco-corridos” and other gang-produced music.
Mexico’s Zetas Cartel has used YouTube and Twitter to announce murders.
These accounts are typically open to the public and unambiguous about who runs them.
Inside closed and secret groups, gangs and cartels issue orders and put out hits on people.
Download ACCO Romance Scams Fact sheet
It’s free to download a pdf copy, but please consider making a $10 donation towards our research.
More Information:
Fake Review Watch (website)
Fake Review Watch (YouTube)
Kay Dean’s editorial on Medium
Fake Medical Reviews on Today Show
False Negative Reviews on Fox 26 Houston
Time Magazine on Fake Reviews
New York Times on Fake Review Fraud
FTC Penalties for Fake Reviews
USG considering consequences for review fraud
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